Drowning Christmas Special
by RogueBHS
Summary: A brief Christmas story sequel to my X-men Evo story "Drowning." Just a little tidbit to hold my old readers over until I can actually write you a REAL sequel.


Drowning - Christmas Short Story  
Chapter 1 of 1  
"Holiday In Your Heart"  
By: RogueBHS

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A/N: Hey! I'm back. Well, for one chapter anyway. I AM going to write a real sequel to Drowning once I finish up the current part of my Comic-verse arc. So that should be around an other month or something. Since you were all so generous with your reviews, I wanted to write this as a thank you of sorts. Can't wait till I have the time for more X-men Evo stories. *smile* Hope you enjoy, and happy holidays (whatever you may celebrate *smile*).

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_ Feel the cold wind blowing-winter's coming on   
'Tis the season, so they say   
If you need help believing 'cause your spirit ain't too strong   
Hold my hand--we'll push that cloud away _

Put a little holiday in your heart   
It'll put a little shuffle in your step   
Give you a song that you can sing   
With a melody you can't forget   
And if you wanna join in a little harmony   
To keep the world from tearin' apart   
Well you know where to look   
Yeah--you gotta put a little holiday in your heart 

There's a man on the corner who doesn't have a name   
People pass and turn their heads away   
But to share a simple kindness would set your heart aflame   
And you'll get more than you'll ever give away 

**"Put A Little Holiday In Your Heart" By: Le Ann Rimes**

As the snow fell outside, the residents of Xavier's mansion in Bayville had no worries. They had a fire going (as well as the heater), and plenty of hot chocolate to keep warm. There was plenty of games and other things to keep them busy, ensuring that they wouldn't get bored. And of course, there were plenty of things to eat, so they'd never get hungry. Unless of course Kurt got extremely hungry.

The tree had been bought days ago, and decorated with major help from Jean and Rogue who were the only ones who could reach the top branches. Right now, the tree lights where on and flashing in multiple colors, causing light to bounce off the shinier ornaments. Under the huge tree, a stack of presents sat, enticing the teens imaginations to no end. It took constant supervision from one of the adults to ensure that none of the presents were openned ahead of time.

Thankfully though, it was Christmas Eve, and each student was going to be allowed to open one present. Of course, there was a rule to go with that privilage. It had to be a gift from one of the other teens. Of course, that meant that Jean could open the thin package from Scott, or that Rogue could open the rather large box from Remy.

The students took a seat around the tree, cups of soda or hot chocolate in hand or near by as they sat by friends. Remy had taken a seat in one of the arm chairs, and much to his surprise, and enjoyment, Rogue had walked right over and sat in his lap, ignoring the looks from the others. She was covered, as always, but that didn't seem to matter any more. The others had learned to trust the Goth girl, and now, she could walk around in a t-shirt and not have anyone flinch when she got near.

But as Professor Xavier rolled up to the tree, Rogue's seating descion was forgotten. Hank, Storm and Logan had also gathered at Xavier's request. Though the adults wouldn't admit it, they were also looking forward to recieving the gifts from the teens. It wasn't a requirement to get a gift for everyone, so recieving one meant that the person either A) thought highly of you, or B) was trying to get on your good side.

Smiling, Xavier looked out over his children, and at his fellow teachers. They were all anxious to have the first gift open, and it showed. Not in their thoughts per se, but in their actions too. He nodded to Storm, and she got up from her place on the couch. After a brief search through the gifts, she picked one out and took sat back down. This little search was continued until each of the X-men had picked out a gift from one of the teens, with Xavier being the last.

This time, Xavier started with the teens opening their gifts. Scott had picked out the package from Kurt, as he was curious as to what on earth the elf could have gotten him. When he opened it, was more than a little surprised to find a book. Once he read the title, he understood the entire reason Kurt had purchased it. Laughing, he held it up so that the rest of the team could see it too. Jean was the first to read the title, and couldn't contain her laughter; after all, Kurt was the only one who could give Scott a book called "How To Lighten Up" and get away with it.

Once the round of laughter died, it was Jean's turn. Rather than get the gift from Scott, she had picked up the gift from Rogue, also out of curiousity. After unwrapping the red paper, Jean undid the tape on the box, and opened it. She couldn't help but gasp. Inside was the 2-disc CD set she had been wanting for months, as well as a necklace that she had admired while shopping with the girls. Looking up at Rogue, she smiled and thanked her, only to recieve a smile and brief nod in return.

Jean was extremely curious what had promted the gift; she hadn't been nice to Rogue since Remy had shown up, and yet the Goth hadn't returned the rude behavior. A little angry at herself for not getting Rogue a gift, Jean decided that she should either give Rogue money, or go out and buy a gift later. Well, depending on the time that this whole gift thing wrapped up, she'd probably ending up giving the goth cash.

It wasn't until a cheer went up that Jean was brought out of her thoughts. Kitty had just opened up her gift from Jean, and obviously loved it. It wasn't much, Jean mused, but the locket was something Kitty had wanted for a few months. After accepting a hug of graditude from the brunette, Jean turned her attention to Kurt, who was opening his gift. He too had picked up his gift from Rogue, eager to see what his sister had gotten him.

Opening the gift, he smiled when he saw the stack of five comics in the box. He had been looking for these five comics for months, and now he had them. Without evening giving it much thought, he put the gift down, got up, crossed the room, and hugged Rogue tightly. She, thankfully, had stood up when she realized that Kurt was heading her way, otherwise it could have been very awkward.

After Kurt was seated again, Remy forced Rogue to stay up so he could go get his gift. He grabbed the one from Kitty, a little curious as to what she had gotten him. Openning it, he couldn't help but smile at the thoughtfulness of the Freshman girl. She had been taking pictures of the team all month long, and had snapped a few of Rogue and Remy together. One of those photos she had gotten was of Rogue and Remy sitting in the living room, his arms around her, and her head layed against his shoulder as they talked. Remy didn't think it took her that long, but she had taken the photo, printed it out on photo paper, and framed it in a silver frame that said "Together Forever."

He smiled at Kitty, and thanked her in French, knowing she liked the way he spoke it. She only shrugged and returned the smile, saying it was no problem. When Remy sat back down, he pulled Rogue back into her spot on his lap, and showed her the photo. Rogue didn't say one single word, but she did smile almost wistfully and lay her head against his.

Jean, noticing that Rogue probably didn't want to move, asked Rogue if she knew which gift she wanted. Nodding, Rogue said she wanted the one from Scott. A little surprised that Scott had gotten Rogue a gift, Jean sifted through the packages, then sent the small box floating over to Rogue. Rogue plucked it out of the air when Jean let go of her telekinetic grip on it, and unwrapped it quickly.

Sliding open the box, Rogue couldn't hide the smile of pure delight that crossed her lips. When the teens had all gone shopping at the mall, Rogue had eyed a certain piece of jewelry in Spencers, one that would go quite nicely with her Goth look. And Scott, observer that he was, had noticed. The necklace was of an almost antiqued silvery metal, and had an amazing pendent. 

The pendant itself wasn't that rare, but it was certainly Rogue's style. It was sword or a dagger, depending on who you asked, with a rather ornante looking hilt. The cool part about it though, was the rose and thorny vine that were on the blade of the sword. Granted that the thorns really hurt if you weren't careful, but it was still a gift Rogue loved. She didn't get up to hug Scott though, but smiling, told him he had an I-O-U for a hug. He laughed at that, and nodded.

Remy pouted, and squeezed her a little. "What about me, chere? Don' I get a hug too?"

Rogue smiled and poked him in his muscled stomach. "You get hugs all th' time, so what on earth are you complainin' about?"

Smiling, he shrugged. "What if I jus' don' like sharin' you wit nobody?"

"Tough. You're gonna have t'."

Remy pouted again. "Ya know, sometimes bein' de boyfriend have its drawbacks."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Don't _even_ get meh started on th' drawbacks o' bein' th' girlfriend of a smooth-talkin' Cajun."

Xavier held up his hands. "Can we keep the fights to a minimum please?"

It was Rogue's turn to pout when she looked at Xavier. "But it was jus' gettin' fun..."

Remy grinned and poked her in the side. "Don' worry chere, we finish dis later eh?"

Rogue's grin was pure evil, and it took everything he had for Remy to not squirm under that look. "Yeah...yeah we will."

* * *

_ Put a little holiday in your heart   
It'll put a little shuffle in your step   
Give you a song that you can sing   
With a melody you can't forget   
And if you wanna join in a little harmony   
To keep the world from tearin' apart   
Well you know where to look   
Yeah--you gotta put a little holiday in your heart _

It starts with you, it starts with me   
That ain't no stranger, he's family and it don't matter if we agree   
It all comes down to love 

Put a little holiday in your heart   
It'll put a little shuffle in your step   
Give you a song that you can sing   
With a melody you can't forget   
And if you wanna join in a little harmony   
To keep the world from tearin' apart   
Well you know where to look   
Yeah--you gotta put a little holiday in your heart. 

**"Put A Little Holiday In Your Heart" By: Le Ann Rimes**

The first thing Ororo heard as she woke was the sound of the younger teens scurrying down the stairs, their voices full of curiousity and impatientence. Opening one gift hadn't been enough, not when there were so many stacked under the tree. Of course, there was the pleasure of being able to go outside and make snowmen, the anticipation of the huge meals, and the overall fun of just getting to be with people who, more or less, understand you.

A few minutes later, the sounds of the older teens rousing and making their way downstairs could be heard as well. A feminine laugh rang out, followed by the sound of quicker steps down the stairs, and then a squeal of delight and surprise. Shaking her head, Ororo forced herself out of bed and into one of her warmer robes. Just because she was immune to temperature extremes didn't mean that she couldn't tell when a room was cold.

When Ororo was halfway down the stairs, she saw that Beast was already in the living room, seated on the couch with a cup of steaming coffee in hand. He noticed her, and raised a hand in greeting. Smiling, Ororo returned the greeting before walking into the kitchen for a cup of hot tea.

By the time that Storm had made her way back to the living room, Logan and Xavier had joined the group of anxious teens and Hank. Taking a seat next to Beast, she stiffled a yawn behind her hand as she watched the others. Rogue was laying stretched out on the floor, her head resting comfertably against Remy's leg. His gloved hand was idly running through her hair while he spoke to Evan about something.

Scott and Jean were leaning agianst the fireplace, fingers laced together, their heads bent near as they talked softly. The other teens were in other lazy positions, but it was obvious they were ready to jump up the second that their name was called. Xavier glanced around, and seeing that all were gathered, he nodded in satisfaction, then picked up the first present of the morning. Smiling, he handed it down to Jubilee who was sitting not too far from his feet. The young firecracker took the gift eagerly, and then tore into it even as Xavier passed a gift across the room to Logan.

Gifts where handed out to all, and those were quickly devested of wrapping paper, bows and tape that might be in the way. "Ooohhs" and "Ahhhs" were plentiful, and more than once there was laughter in the air over a gag gift of sorts. But when Xavier picked up a large package for himself, the room went still in curiousity. Xavier's eyes slowly lifted to the giver, curiousity obvious.

As far as anyone knew, all of the teens there had no real money or income of their own, aside from parents who might send a monthly allowance. The gift Xavier had recieved however was from Rogue, and how on earth she had gotten the money was a mystery. When Rogue's eyes didn't even move up to meet his, he gave up, knowing it would be fruitless to try and read the girl's mind.

Slowly, he undid the ribbon, paper and tape around the box, then slid the lid off. When he moved away the tissue paper, he couldn't help but smile. Rogue had broken a vase of his by accident not too long after she joined the team when she had been chasing after Evan, and now it seemed that she had made up for it. Inside the box were two vases of etched glass that were actually better looking than the one she had broke. Looking up at her again, he smiled.

"It seems I came out ahead for your accident hmm?" When the faces around him registered confusion, Xavier picked up the vases, and showed them to the rest of the team. A few gasps were heard, but all eyes turned to Rogue, also curious how she got the money. Rogue didn't seem to be bothered by it, and simply smiled.

"Well, Ah figured it'd been so long since Ah broke it, that Ah probably owed ya a little interest on it."

Accepting that, Xaiver nodded. "Thank you very much, Rogue. I'll make sure I put them out of any running paths."

Rogue nodded. "Good idea."

One by one, the teens turned back to their own gifts until they heard a gasp of delight from Kitty. She had just opened a gift that said it was from both Rogue and Remy, something she didn't doubt could be true when she considered how nice the gift was. The gift included a pink and blue peasent top with pastel threads woven in different patterns around the collar and cuffs, and matching jewelry to boot.

Kitty smiled in form of thanks, as the noise level in the room had just increased due to the Christmas music that Scott had turned on. When Remy nodded, both went back to their gifts yet again.

Much later, after lunch, Rogue glanced up from her spot by the window when she noticed Jean approaching her. The redhead hadn't exactly been kind to Rogue for a great deal of the year, but Rogue had decided to get the girl a gift anyway. She didn't expect anything in return, but if the envelope in Jean's hand was an indication, she was going to get something anyway.

Sighing, Rogue turned fully so that she could face Jean, and she forced the trace of a smile, wanting to atleast be friendly. When Jean reached her, Rogue tilted her head in curiousity. "Somethin' ya want Jean?"

Jean nodded and held out the envelope. "I didn't think about getting you anything for Christmas when we were out shopping, and well...Truth is, I felt a little guilty about it. Its not much, but I hope you'll accept it anyway."

Curious, Rogue took the envelope and opened it, then shook out the contents into her hand. Her eyes flew up to meet the brighter green eyes of her old rival. "But...ya were gonna go see this with Scott weren't ya?"

Jean nodded, then shrugged. "You and Remy haven't had much of a chance for a real date, and the music they play isn't really my style. Go ahead...enjoy it."

Rogue nodded slowly, then went with instinct. She could tell Jean was surprised by the quick hug, but she just smiled. "Remy'll get a kick outta goin..."

Jean smiled. "Yeah. I bet he will."

Rogue tilted her head. "Ya sure ya wanna give these t' meh? Aftah all...Scott'd just about kill for these babies..."

Jean laughed. "I'm sure. Besides, I can always get tickets for whenever Creed comes in town."

Nodding, Rogue smiled. "Somethin' you'll both enjoy..." Rogue winked, knowing of Jean's not-so-secret-crush on the lead singer of the group.

With a wicked grin, Jean nodded. "You said it. Two hot guys named Scott in the same room... what more could I ask for?"

Watching Jean walk away, Rogue smiled. Both girls knew that Jean absoluted adored Scott Summers, and would give up the rock star for her teammate any day. But it was always fun to joke, after all. Glancing down at the tickets in her hand, Rogue let her thoughts drift. A Disturbed concert with Remy...now that would be fun. Rogue's eyes glanced over to where Scott and Jean were standing by the stairs, talking and laughing. The holiday spirit had gotten in to everyone this year, and Rogue hoped that some things would last past the beginning of the new year.

When Remy came over and took a seat beside her, Rogue had a feeling that there were some things that would always be true around the X-mansion. Kurt would always be a goofball; Kitty would always be a sweet-hearted valley girl; Scott would always be a little too serious; Jean would always be "Miss Perfect." As for herself and Remy? As he slid his arms around her and pulled her close, Rogue knew they'd stay just the way they were too. The Gothic Rogue and the Cajun Gambit...always.


End file.
